Randall Budd, our brilliant News Services Manager, has 30+ years of experience in the media industry. He’s seen the sector evolve from print clippings and couriers to the realtime data we enjoy today.
We recently had the opportunity to sit down with him and hear about his invaluable experience, as well as what he thinks PR and communications teams need to know about the news cycle.
Q: If you had to estimate, how many news sources do you look at every day?
Wow. I’d say it would be in the realm of about 50-60, and that includes emails that I get in from regional publications.
I generally try to look at tier one websites and other well-known news websites, looking at their latest tabs to see what’s just come in. Then I scrutinise that content and pass that information on to my colleagues to let them know about stories relevant to their clients.
Q: Do you have a busiest time of day where things get super intense?
Well, it’s interesting you ask. Certainly in the morning, trying to catch up on what’s happened overnight can tend to be very busy. But, you’ll often find particularly publishers have a print offering that they’ll start to print late in the business day.
The articles that their journalists have written during the day go to print late in the afternoon or early evening. So I try to be aware of that content later in the day because often that’s what’s going to be on the front page of the newspaper the following morning.
Q: Going back a bit, why media intelligence? I know you’ve studied political science and government. How did you fall into it?
Sure. Well, I’ve always been interested in the news and how it’s reported. I found that this role in media intelligence enabled me to be involved in a reporting kind of way without being a journalist attached to a publication.
Q: What’s important to know about how this industry has evolved over the last few decades?
Yes, absolutely. So, before content was delivered digitally, the courier and photocopy companies were going great guns because articles had to be cut up and reproduced on photocopiers.
And then the overnight batch for each customer, as well as any videos or audios they ordered on cassette or CD, would then be couriered to their place of business. There was no one working from home then! Particularly for television and radio, if a client really wanted to see what was broadcast the previous evening, it was sent within an hour by courier so that they could see it because there the news wasn’t being streamed at that time and not everybody was VHS recording it 24/7.
Q: I know PR professionals will probably be interested in this one. What makes news ‘newsworthy’ to you? Like, what do you look for when you’ve got a headline in front of you?
Certainly. So, some of the particular news items that I look for are executive changes, product recalls, food recalls. And certainly around the reporting season, be they annual general meetings or half-yearly or full-year reporting. And not just from the particular customers that are doing that reporting, but other competitors in that sector.
Q: Has this kind of breaking news always been quick to earn coverage?
I'd say so. Certainly, the pace of news is so much quicker because of online and social media, particularly on X (Twitter). X tends to be the social media platform where a lot of journalists and media organisations publish developing or breaking stories. It’s getting almost to the maximum point where, you know, people are putting up rumours or unsubstantiated breaking news so they can be first to publish.
Q: How quickly are you seeing stories develop today from lead to coverage?
Well, it really depends on the nature of the story.
You know, if it has to do with some sort of commercial accident, it might take some time for the investigation results to come through. And certainly, the consequences of an accident, such as facilities or injuries, they may come out at first, but then finding out the who, what, where, and why can sometimes take a bit longer.
Q: What do you think the average person gets wrong about the news cycle?
I think particularly what happens, either with regular consumers or corporate affairs and media practitioners, is that they’re so busy, their job is so demanding, that it’s difficult for them to keep abreast of details and developments in a particular story that’s relevant to them.
It’s why a media intelligence service is so important, so that they can digest a large amount of coverage in their own time.
Q: If you had to guess, what percentage of the news do you think the average professional misses if they’re trying to manage that by themselves?
I think they would miss a lot because there’s so much on different platforms, and they may have their own biases on where they want to check for news. But, there might be an individual journalist they miss that’s been able to get some information or a leak. So, it’s very difficult because of all the different responsibilities people in the corporate affairs realm have in the current day.
Q: I guess a lot of the information that goes missed or is seen too late comes from regional and local outlets. How important is it to monitor those sources?
Oh, I think it’s essential, particularly if your organisation has interests, either current or potential interests, in regional areas. That can be in the retail sector, the manufacturing sector, or the mining sector. That’s where all of those regional commercial developments are.
It’s important to be aware of what’s going on, not just in the commercial world, but what’s happening in local government and what state governments’ initiatives and policies are for those areas.
Q: If you had to kind of summarise it in a few sentences, what do you think differentiates Streem for PR and comms teams?
I think Streem has a real focus on providing news and media as quickly as they’re published. I think we also recognise the importance of insights and reports so that information can be fashioned in a way that can help it be reported to colleagues in an organisation, aside from the corporate affairs and public relations people.
I think we’ve also really taken on the importance of artificial intelligence in the media intelligence sector, and how our media experts can best utilise it as a tool, not as something that we've got an over-reliance on.
Streem’s Commitment to Keeping You Informed
At Streem, we are committed to keeping you informed about the latest developments in the media landscape. We deliver a complete media intelligence solution backed by trusted local experts. Featuring realtime media monitoring, integrated traditional and social analytics and reporting, social listening, and press release distribution, Streem supports 1000+ corporate, government, and agency clients across Australia and New Zealand.
Ready to elevate your media monitoring and insights? Contact Streem today, and let’s start shaping your communication strategies.